The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

Synopsis: Princess Addie is timid and depends on her older sister, Meryl, to take care of her. Princess Meryl is brave, bold, and ready to slay dragons when she is old enough. But when the Gray Death infects Meryl, Addie must muster her courage to go out to find a cure in their scary world that contains dragons, ogres, gryphons, and other fantastical creatures.

Rating: Pretty good, but not as good as Levine’s other books.

Opinion: I wasn’t wowed by this book. The characters were nice, and the action moved along pretty well, but I enjoyed Fairest much, much more. This review is short because I really don’t have much to say about it.

The Princetta by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Synopsis: Malva is the Princetta of Galnicia, a vaguely European country in an imaginary land. She is about to marry to cement an alliance for her country, when she escapes with her maid to live the life she wants to live. She, however, has been tricked into escaping so that her tutor can take over the country, and Malva lands into much more trouble than she bargained for.

Orpheus is the son of a renowned ship’s captain and has always longed to go to sea, but a childhood disease prevents him (or so his father wants him to think). On his father’s death, he discovers that it was not true due to the double life his father lived as a legitimate captain and seafaring pirate. When the Princetta goes missing, Orpheus volunteers to be one of the party. Thus begins an epic story that goes from the ends of the earth and back.

Rating: Good, but a bit long.

Opinion: The book is divided into three parts, and the first part had me glued to the pages. The second part took a turn I didn’t expect and it took me a bit to get back into the story. Towards the end, the book gets kind of fanciful and, frankly, a bit weird. The story line rambles a bit here and there, but I wonder if it’s not due to the translation, or due to cultural differences (it being originally written in French). I do know that the editors did miss at least one mistake: “They exchanged baffled glances and then began searching the fog, which was thinking [sic] here and there.” (page 290) It seemed to me that the plot line got very complex, but without depth. This opinion is kind of rambly simply because I’m not sure how to explain the book, because it is so rambly. Go read it and see if you agree.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

When I first picked up this book, it was at lunch, which, considering that it pretty much starts off with descriptions of giant cockroaches, was not a great idea. But once I got over the ickiness of giant roaches, bats, rats, and various other rather repugnant bugs and animals, I found it was a really well-written and engaging book. Gregor is an eleven-year-old boy who lives in an apartment in New York City with his family, and one day he and his toddler sister are sucked down into the Underworld (a world beneath ours consisting of humans and giant creatures). He and his sister, Boots, are immediately beset with danger, and are continually so throughout. All Gregor wants to do is to escape back home, but when he discovers that he has a chance to find his dad, who went missing over two years ago, he agrees to stay and help the humans with their cause. It’s action-packed and has an interesting contrast between our world and the Underworld in the dialog. Gregor speaks like an ordinary, modern eleven-year-old, and the Underworld humans speak with a sort of archaic, stilted language. Good book.

I had been reading Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich, but it wasn’t really grabbing me, so I decided to return it without finishing it. I’m not sure what I will start next – so many good books on my list!